Thursday, May 18, 2006

Poker Rootkit Is Hackers' Ace Up Their Sleeve

A programmer hired by an online poker tools site snuck a trojan into an application he was hired to develop, unleashing a rootkit on users' machines that could then be used to steal their passwords to online casinos and poker sites.

An anti-virus company says the rootkit is particularly malicious because the hacker could take a victim's money without making it look stolen -- by using the passwords to log on to a poker site, then playing very badly against players controlled by the hacker. The victims are then left with little recourse, since it looks like they just lost their money during normal play.

Most are also hesitant to get the authorities involved, given the questionable legality of and souring attitude towards online gambling. While most online poker "hacks" involve using bots or players cooperating against the rest of the table, this is a modern twist on an old scam: targeting people who will be afraid to report being the victims of theft.